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Enjoy browsing through the variety of books published, produced and distributed by Penobscot Books. We feature books that celebrate our area’s uniqueness and spectacular nature and scenic beauty, including history, memories, cookbooks and children’s books. Also available are 1880s reproduction maps of our area and DVDs featuring Deer Isle and Castine.
More By Eye Than By Measure—The Maritime Life and Art of John Prior Gardner
More By Eye Than By Measure—The Maritime Life and Art of John Prior Gardner
By Sandra Dinsmore
What kind of boat models are so lifelike they move sailors to tears? The exquisite models crafted by Maine’s own John P. Gardner have been known to do just that, especially among people who’ve sailed their full-size counterparts.
In this biography of Gardner, Sandra Dinsmore brings his creative process and artistic imagination to life, but she also conveys the struggles and setbacks that Gardner must overcome to work his magic.
Readers will come away with an appreciation of the skill and persistence involved in building models and of the exacting “eye” that’s required. And, they’ll learn about the surprising items Gardner uses in his models—from X-ray film to hypodermic needles. They’ll also grasp how his maritime experience informs his models and sets them apart.
Along the way, they’ll learn about Gardner’s extraordinary adventures at sea, on the Brooklyn, N.Y. waterfront and finally, in Castine, his beloved hometown on the Maine coast.
From the author: click here to read Sandra Dinsmore’s thoughts on the origins of this book and her writing career
More By Eye Than By Measure is a 2020 Maine Literary Awards finalist for the John N. Cole Award for Maine-themed Nonfiction.
About the author: The late Sandra Dinsmore spent twenty years in the antiques business, specializing in buying and selling American antique furniture and Chinese export porcelain. She then turned to writing and was so impressed with the work of Castine artist and modelmaker John P. Gardner, she decided to write about his life and art. This is her first published book.
ISBN: 978-0-941238-29-8
LCCN: 2019950974
Format: 7” x 10”, soft cover, 140 pages, 14 photos
Genre: Biography; art
Printed the the United States by 360 Digital Books, Madison Heights, Michigan